Recently, I came across an article in my newsfeed that claimed to share the best job interview questions from executives. When articles like this show up in my news feed, it feels like “clickbait.” I can’t help but read it and see what “experts” are saying. I often think to myself, “What are they doing differently, and what might I learn from them?” or “Is there anything of value that might help me do better in my role as Practice Leader for Strategic Human Resource Solutions at BEST Human Capital & Advisory Group?”
However, reading these questions, I was appalled.
Why?
Most questions cited were future-looking, asking candidates to craft an imaginary response about what they “would” do. A response to such questions would lack behavioral evidence of future success. Any response to a future-phrased question is dependent on the real/actual situation with the employer where a candidate is seeking employment, which is unknown to the candidate at the time of an interview. A comprehensive understanding of the situation and environment cannot be adequately communicated to a candidate during the interview process to provide the proper context for them to frame an appropriate response.
The questions asked by executives in the article, which we review below, lacked job relevance. Relevance to the job is critical when asking any question in a job interview. Asking questions lacking job relevance increases employer risk. Candidates have a right, and I would say a responsibility, to push back on these questions to seek understanding around their relevance.
What’s Better?
While past performance is not a perfect predictor of future occurrences, it is all one has to go on. Knowing what they have done, and the circumstances around the actions taken – behavior-based questions – helps an interviewer understand the potential performance a candidate brings to any role.
Let’s examine how the questions from the article can be reframed as behavior-based questions:
- Don’t ask: “Imagine the scope of work has increased, but resources have not; what would you do?”
- Reframe and do ask: “Tell me about a time when the scope of work on a project you led or on which you were a key participant increased (encountered scope creep), yet the resources available to complete the project remained the same. What adjustments did you make to ensure the project was completed on time and on budget? How did you adapt existing resources, team member participation, or your own performance to ensure the project was completed at the quality level expected?”
The ”Tell me…” statement sets up the scenario you want the candidate to discuss. The questions that follow provide the appropriate context. They dig for more details from the candidate to encourage a response that can demonstrate relevance to the job. It is general enough to encompass a wide variety of projects that a candidate can draw on as a response, yet specific enough to help the interviewer understand the candidate’s thought processes, knowledge, skills, abilities, and decision-making style. All projects are challenged by scope creep, time, resource, and budget constraints. An adequate response would address these concerns and shed far more light on what is important for the role – because it draws on what the candidate has done.
- Don’t ask: “What impact will you have on your team?”
- Reframe and do ask: “Describe a situation when you stepped into a leadership role for an existing team. Why were you tapped to lead the team? What were the top 2 – 3 challenges the team was facing at the time you stepped into this leadership role? Share the key actions you took to address each of these top challenges and the impact your actions had on the team’s success.”
The “Describe a situation…” statement sets up the scenario for the candidate to respond. The supporting questions provide critical context that a candidate needs in order to formulate a proper response. This behavior-based question is rooted in what the candidate has done. Any interviewer can hear the response, evaluate it in the context of what this person would be doing in the role for which they are being interviewed. It gets to the heart of the job – stepping into an existing team, confronting challenges they may not fully understand or even be aware of until they take on the role, and having to develop a plan of action to address these challenges. The interviewer will be able to see how the candidate has accomplished this in the past, which informs them on how they will do it in the future without providing a fictitious answer.
- Don’t ask: “What brings you here today?”
- Eliminate this question entirely: The reason for a person to be in the interview today should have been uncovered well in advance of any “executive” interview. During an introductory conversation, usually with an internal or external recruiter, candidates should be asked about the reasons for their career transitions. For example, “I see you worked for Acme from 1/2020 through 5/2024. What prompted you to leave Acme and join Beta Corp?” What you are listening for is if there is a legitimate, positive reason for the transition – were they recruited? Was it for a career growth opportunity? Were there family concerns necessitating the change? – or reasons that are just beyond their control – Acme suffered financial distress, and their role was eliminated as part of a downsizing. This should be uncovered well before any “Executive” interview.
- Don’t ask: “How do you receive negative feedback?”
- Reframe and ask: “Share a time when you were unsuccessful. What feedback did you receive, and how did you personally and professionally deal with this situation?”
This reframing gets to the heart of dealing with failure, receiving feedback, and whether or not the individual handles feedback about a failure positively. It is never the mistake or failure that is important, it is how we deal with it and recover that truly tells you something about the perseverance, ethical persuasion, temperament, and mental flexibility of a candidate. Phrasing it in this manner allows the candidate to share a story about how they have handled this in the past, providing insight into how they will in the future and their true character.
Questions around how one receives negative feedback are super-dependent on circumstances. Is the feedback presented as an attack or constructive? Is the tone harsh and accusatory or calm and inquisitive? Are the details presented in the negative feedback true, fair, and accurate, or uncontrollable by the recipient, based on innuendo, and unsupported by facts? All of this impacts how a person receives negative feedback, so it is impossible for a candidate to provide a singular answer, as if there is only one way to receive negative feedback.
- Don’t ask: “What does culture and company mean to you?”
- Reframe and ask: “Tell me about a time when you stepped into a leadership role where the team culture or company culture was less than positive or had a negative effect on team performance. What steps did you take to influence company or team culture in a more positive direction? How did you take responsibility for your team’s performance through creating a culture that aligned with organizational objectives while driving higher levels of employee engagement?”
The “Tell me about…” statement again sets up the candidate’s response, while the following questions provide the context and nuance that help the candidate choose an appropriate story from their experience. Behavior-based questioning techniques like this force candidates to discuss their actual past performance, rather than fabricating an imaginary response. This reframed question does not imply the company’s existing culture is negative, nor that it is causing difficulty for team performance. If asked about this by the candidate, a reasonable follow-up on their part, it should be easy to help them understand that what you want to know is how they have taken on responsibility for influencing company culture in the past. Leaders are not just implementers of existing culture; they work collaboratively to shape and improve the culture through their leadership. When a candidate understands the root of the question, they can share the appropriate story. Again, this is behavior-based, asking what they have done in the past, and listening to understand how they are likely to do so in the future.
When interviewing candidates, it is critical to plan and prepare your questions in advance. All candidates should be asked the same core questions with different follow-up questions that are based on the actual responses candidates provide. Don’t stop with a singular answer, dig for detail. The ability to provide more detail is another way interviewers can assess the ability and capability of a candidate to perform the essential duties and responsibilities of the job, as well as their alignment with the company culture.
All questions should be behavior-based, focused on what the candidate has done in the past. There is no perfect question and no perfect answer. What they have done in the past is not a guarantee that they will do it in the future. However, understanding what they have done provides the best insight into what a candidate will do.
And that is the secret to how you identify top candidates – through Behavior-Based Interview Questions!
